• by Karl Greenberg , February 18, 2011

Lexus has entered the world of film presentation for the first time with an agreement with Shangri-La Entertainment and YouTube. The automaker will present the Sebastian Gutierrez film "Girl Walks Into a Bar" free on YouTube premiering Friday, March 11. The deal is also the first time a major motion picture was created exclusively for Web distribution.

"Girl Walks Into a Bar" will premiere in the YouTube Screening Room, a platform designed to showcase top films.  

"With 'Girl Walks Into a Bar,' the cast and crew came together to create something different – a high quality, really fun character-driven film that we could present to audiences for free using a new distribution model," said Gutierrez, in a statement.  "We found great partners in Lexus and YouTube to support the film while providing us with the stage to draw the largest audience possible."